Power Battery

ABSTRACT

A power battery, the power battery includes an inner case ( 4 ), an outer case ( 1 ), a battery body ( 2 ) and electrodes ( 3 ), the battery body ( 2 ) includes electrode plates, the external surface of the outer case is provided with an external heat abstractor and the internal surface of the inner case is provided with an internal heat abstractor, a cylindrical holding cavity ( 5 ) with an annular cross section is formed between the outer case ( 1 ) and the inner case ( 4 ) and the electrode plates are rolled in the holding cavity ( 5 ), the electrodes ( 3 ) are arranged in an inner cavity of the inner case ( 4 ) and the inner case also has at least an airway going through the inner cavity.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/376,922 filed Dec. 8, 2011, which is a continuation application ofPCT Patent Application No. PCT/CN2009/000803, filed on Jul. 17, 2009,entitled “Power Battery”, which claims priority from Chinese PatentApplication No. 200910040186.2, filed on Jun. 11, 2009, entitled “PowerBattery”, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to techniques of batteries, and moreparticularly, to a power battery.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the development of the world economy, the price of theinternational oil fluctuates violently in recent years, and the oilresource is anticipated to decrease in the future, so oil has alreadybecome a bottle neck of the development of the world economy, and makinguse of new energy sources has become a new trend in the development ofeconomy. With the growing shortage of the global fossil energy and theincreasing pollution of the environment, the demand for clean andrenewable energy sources is growing more and more imperative.

As carriers of high efficient renewable energy sources, lithium ionbatteries are widely used in electron and communication industry,especially in personal communication tools such as mobile phones, PDAand so on. Color screen technology, multimedia message technology,Bluetooth technology and photographing technique have been introducedone after another in recent two years with the rapid development ofcommunication technology, which puts forward higher standard for thecapacity, volume, weight, electrochemical performance and safetyperformance of lithium ion battery. The working voltage of a singlelithium ion battery is usually ranged from 2.4v to 4.5v. What's more,the capacity of a single battery is limited.

The safety performance of the lithium ion battery is more important forthe electric vehicles, UPS, communication equipments and so on in theapplication fields, of which large capacity and large power are needed.At present, the power battery with large capacity and large power isassembled by connecting single cells in series and/or in parallel. Thekey factor which affects the safety performance of the lithium ionbattery is that the heat of the battery produced in the working processcan't be released in time. Instead, the heat is accumulated graduallyand becomes out of control to cause an explosion at last, which willbring harm and damages to the users. Now the lithium ion battery issolid, which is not good for eliminating heat. So for the people in thisfield, it has become one of the highlights of research whether thestructure of a single lithium ion battery is beneficial to heatradiation and meets the requirements of unconformity of the battery ornot.

The most common power batteries in the prior art are solid and in shapeof circle or square. These two kinds of batteries have the same defectsof low safety performance, less charge/discharge cycles and badoperational performances as follows:

The interior of the square battery is assembled by a number of electrodeplates. In working process, the inner ions of the battery move at highspeed and the temperature inside the battery rises. Due to the wholestructure defects of the square battery, the square battery stops theinternal heat from being released, so that the outer case of the powerbattery and the inner electrode plates distort, and the spaces betweenthe inner electrode plates of the battery become unequal, which willaffect the charging characteristics and discharging characteristics.What's more, that the internal heat can't be released will result in theinstable performance, explosion and short service life of the battery.

The interior of the circular battery is assembled by rolling a number ofelectrode plates. In working process, the inner ions of the battery moveat high speed and the temperature inside the battery rises. Due to thewhole structure defects of the circular battery, the circular batterystops the internal heat from being released, so that the spaces betweenthe inner electrode plates of the battery become unequal, which willaffect the charging characteristics and discharging characteristics.What's more, that the internal heat can't be released will result in theinstable performance, explosion and short service life of the battery.

Now it has become a common sense of governments of all countries andgroups of enterprises to develop power batteries with large capacity,long service life and good safety performance. It is anticipated thatthis kind of power battery will be one of the most important powerenergy resources of electric vehicles in the 21st century and will bewidely used in man-made satellites, aeronautics and space industry, andenergy storage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is aimed at providing a power battery with a newstructure, high security, excellent heat elimination and long servicelife.

The object of the present invention is achieved by the followingtechnical scheme:

A power battery comprises an outer case, a battery body and anelectrode. The battery body comprises electrode plates. The powerbattery further comprises an inner case. An external heat abstractor isdisposed on external surface of the outer case and an internal heatabstractor is disposed on internal surface of the inner case. Acylindrical holding cavity with an annular cross section is formedbetween the outer case and the inner case, and the electrode plates arerolled in the holding cavity. The electrode is disposed in an innercavity of the inner case, which is provided with one or more airwaysgoing through the inner cavity.

Wall thickness of the outer case is greater than that of the inner case.

In summary, the present invention has following advantages:

The improved design of the power battery of the present invention isbased on the traditional power battery with the defects of poor heatelimination, tending to explode, less cycles and long charging time. Thepower battery comprises the specific structure such as the shape, theinner cavity and so on. With respect to the power battery of the presentinvention, an external heat abstractor is disposed on the externalsurface of the outer case, an internal heat abstractor is disposed onthe internal surface of the inner case, and the inner case is providedwith one or more airways going through the inner cavity, which is goodfor the power battery to release the heat accumulated in working processin time and makes the power battery safer in use. What's more, in theoperating environment in which a large quantity of heat needs releasing,a ventilator, an air conditioner and other refrigerators or radiatorsmay be installed in the inner cavity of the power battery. The powerbattery with such structure can keep working in proper temperature ofthe environment, can reduce the demand for the uniformity of the powerbattery and prolong the cycle life of the power battery. Additionally,with respect to the power battery of the present invention, the wallthickness of the outer case is greater than that of the inner case, sowhen the temperature and the pressure in the power battery rise steeply,the inner case breaks first and the steam is ejected directionally fromtwo ends of the airway, and accidents can be avoided as long as properejection directions are set.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a vertical view illustrating the power battery of the presentinvention according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the power battery of the presentinvention according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a vertical view illustrating the local inner cavity of thepower battery of the present invention according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a stereogram illustrating the power battery of the presentinvention according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a vertical view illustrating the power battery of the presentinvention according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view illustrating the power battery of the presentinvention according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a vertical view illustrating the local inner cavity of thepower battery of the present invention according to the secondembodiment;

FIG. 8 is a stereogram illustrating the power battery of the presentinvention according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a vertical view illustrating the power battery of the presentinvention according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view illustrating the power battery of thepresent invention according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a vertical view illustrating the local inner cavity of thepower battery of the present invention according to the thirdembodiment;

FIG. 12 is a stereogram illustrating the power battery of the presentinvention according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a vertical view illustrating the power battery of the presentinvention according to the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view illustrating the power battery of thepresent invention according to the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a vertical view illustrating the local inner cavity of thepower battery of the present invention according to the fourthembodiment;

FIG. 16 is a stereogram illustrating the power battery of the presentinvention according to the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a vertical view illustrating the power battery of the presentinvention according to the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a sectional view illustrating the power battery of thepresent invention according to the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a stereogram illustrating the power battery of the presentinvention according to the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a vertical view illustrating the power battery of the presentinvention according to the sixth embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a sectional view illustrating the power battery of thepresent invention according to the sixth embodiment;

FIG. 22 is a vertical view illustrating the local inner cavity of thepower battery of the present invention according to the sixthembodiment;

FIG. 23 is a stereogram illustrating the power battery of the presentinvention according to the sixth embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The power battery disclosed in the present invention comprises an outercase, a battery body and an electrode. The battery body compriseselectrode plates. The power battery further comprises an inner case. Anexternal heat abstractor is disposed on the external surface of theouter case and an internal heat abstractor is disposed on the internalsurface of the inner case. A cylindrical holding cavity with an annularcross section is formed between the outer case and the inner case. Theelectrode plates are rolled in the holding cavity. The electrode isdisposed in an inner cavity of the inner case, which is provided withone or more airways going through the inner cavity.

Wall thickness of the outer case is greater than that of the inner case.

The power battery has various shapes such as circle, square, rhomb orcylinder. The inner cavity is circular, honeycomb-like, square orquincuncial in shape. The present invention will be described in moredetails as follows.

The First Embodiment

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, according to the power battery of thisembodiment, the outer case 1 and the inner case 4 are nested together toform a tubular structure. The external heat abstractor is made up ofmultiple external radiator fins 11 which extend outwards in directionsof diameters of the outer case 1. The multiple external radiator fins 11are fixed on external surface of the outer case 1 and spaced at aspecific distance. The holding cavity 5 has a cylindrical structure withan annular cross section. The electrode plates 21 of the battery body 2are rolled to form overlapped and sliced cylinders. The internal heatabstractor is made up of multiple internal radiator fins 41 which extendinwards in directions of diameters of the inner case 4. The multipleinternal radiator fins 41 are fixed on internal surface of the innercase 4 and spaced at a specific distance. The inner cavity is providedwith an airway 71, which has a gear-like cross section and may gothrough the inner cavity.

The electrode 3 comprises a first electrode member 31 and a secondelectrode member 32 which are located at upper end and lower end of theinner cavity respectively. The first electrode member 31 comprises oneor more electrode poles 311 and a connecting pipe 310 located in centerof the inner cavity.

The power battery disclosed in this embodiment is provided with 2 to 10electrode poles 311, preferably three electrode poles 311. Each of theelectrode poles 311 is connected with the internal surface of the innercase 4 at one end, and is connected with the connecting pipe 310 at theother end. The three electrode poles 311 are distributed evenly along acircum on the internal surface of the inner case 4, which makes thepower battery be charged and discharge more evenly.

The second electrode member 32 has the same structure as the firstelectrode member 31. The first electrode member 31 and the secondelectrode member 32 are insulated from each other.

One or more sensors 6 are disposed inside the inner cavity to obtaininformation of the power battery. The sensors 6 may be temperaturesensors and/or pressure sensors.

The wall thickness L of the outer case 1 is ranged from 0.5 mm to 500mm. The wall thickness A of the inner case 4 is ranged from 0.2 mm to 15mm.

The Second Embodiment

As shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8, the power battery disclosed in thesecond embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that, the innercavity is provided with an airway 72, which has a quincuncial crosssection and may go through the inner cavity; and an irregular surface isformed on the internal surface of the inner case 4, which increasesradiating area greatly.

The wall thickness L of the outer case 1 is ranged from 0.5 mm to 500mm. The wall thickness B of the inner case 4 is ranged from 0.2 mm to 15mm.

The Third Embodiment

As shown in FIGS. 9, 10, 11 and 12, the power battery disclosed in thethird embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that, the innercavity is provided with an airway 73, which has a honeycomb-like crosssection and may go through the inner cavity; the airway 73 is composedof multiple small cylindrical honeycomb holes which are notinterconnected; and wall thickness of each small honeycomb hole isranged from 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm.

The wall thickness L of the outer case 1 is ranged from 0.5 mm to 500mm. The wall thickness C of the inner case 4 is ranged from 0.2 mm to 15mm.

The Fourth Embodiment

As shown in FIGS. 13, 14, 15 and 16, the power battery disclosed in thefourth embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that, the outerheat abstractor is made up of multiple square external radiator fins 12,which extend outwards in the directions of diameters of the outer case1; the multiple square external radiator fins 12 are fixed on theexternal surface of the outer case 1 and spaced at a specific distance;outmost contours of the multiple square external radiator fins 12 areall located on surfaces of a cuboid or a cube; and the whole battery iscuboid or cube in shape.

Upper end plane of the power battery is provided with one to four upperconnecting devices 81 located at four corners of the upper end plane.Lower end plane of the power battery is provided with one to four lowerconnecting devices 82 located at four corners of the lower end plane.

The Fifth Embodiment

As shown in FIGS. 17, 18 and 19, the power battery disclosed in thefifth embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that, front end ofthe power battery is provided with a front connecting devices 83; backend of the power battery is provided with a back connecting devices 84;the front connecting devices 83 and the back connecting devices 84 arefixed on the outer case 1.

The front connecting devices 83 and the back connecting devices 84 areboth provided with mounting holes.

The Sixth Embodiment

As shown in FIGS. 20, 21, 22 and 23, the power battery disclosed in thesixth embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that, the internalheat abstractor is made up of multiple square internal radiator fins 42which extend inwards in the directions of diameters of the inner case 4;the multiple square internal radiator fins 42 are fixed on the internalsurface of the inner case 4 and spaced at a specific distance; benmostcontours of the multiple square internal radiator fins 42 are alllocated on surfaces of a cuboid or a cube to form a cuboid or cubeairway 74 wholly.

The electrode 3 comprises a third electrode member 33 and a fourthelectrode member 34, which are located at the upper end and the lowerend of the inner cavity respectively. The third electrode member 33comprises one or more electrode poles 332 and a connecting pipe 331located in the center of the inner cavity.

The power battery disclosed in this embodiment is provided with fourelectrode poles 332, each of which is connected with the internalsurface of the inner case 4 at one end and is connected with theconnecting pipe 331 at the other end. The four electrode poles 332 aredistributed evenly along a circum on the internal surface of the innercase 4, which makes the power battery be charged and discharge moreevenly.

The fourth electrode member 34 has the same structure as the thirdelectrode member 33. The fourth electrode member 34 and the thirdelectrode member 33 are insulated from each other.

The power battery of the present invention has characteristics asfollows:

1. Wall thickness of the inner case: the wall thickness of the innercase, which can be regulated according to the power of the powerbattery, is less than that of the outer case; the wall thickness of theinner case is ranged from 0.2 mm to 15 mm, and the wall thickness of theouter case is ranged from 0.5 mm to 500 mm. The present invention solvesthe problem of explosion of the power battery due to the heat, which iscaused by the high moving ions and cannot be released. Even if anexplosion breaks out, the interior energy is released towards the innercavity and there won't be a destructive effect on surroundings.2. The sensors inside the inner cavity: the sensors are disposed insidethe center of the inner cavity to monitor the temperature or thepressure of the power battery real-timely. For example, when thetemperature is too high, the sensor will instruct the air cooling, thewater cooling or other cooling material to reduce the temperature of thepower battery; when the temperature is too low, the sensor will instructthe warm air heating, the hot water heating or other heating material tokeep the temperature of the power battery constant. The power batteryoperates in proper temperature and ensures stable output voltage andoutput current, which improves the operating performance and the safetyfactor of the power battery.3. Positive electrode and negative electrode: the positive electrode andthe negative electrode of the present invention may be disposed in theinner cavity or at any positions of the outside of the power batteryaccording to actual demands. The electrodes are mostly disposed in theinner cavity of the power battery and can't be seen from outside, whichensures the power battery to be aesthetic and prevents the power batteryfrom the influence of the severe environment. The number of theelectrode poles is set according to the actual requirements. Theelectrode poles are disposed in the inner cavity. The number of theelectrode poles extracted from each of the positive electrode and thenegative electrode is ranged from 2 to 10. The main functions of theelectrode poles are to make the power battery be charged and dischargeevenly, to reduce the charging time, and to improve the service life andthe operating performance of the power battery.4. Radiator fins in the inner cavity: the power battery of the presentinvention is provided with radiator fins in the inner cavity, which maybe in various shapes. When the temperature of the power battery rises,the radiator fins release the heat and provide excellent workingenvironment for the power battery with the cooperation of other coolingdevices.5. Structure of the outer case: the outer case of the power battery ofthe present invention is circular, square or rhombic in shape; radiatorfins, and fixing devices which may be installed in differentenvironments, are disposed on the outer case of the power battery.6. Series power batteries and parallel power batteries: if a number ofpower batteries are needed to be connected in series and/or in parallelfor certain electrical equipment, no power cables can be seen from theoutside. The design of the power battery may reduce the influence of thesevere environment on the power battery greatly.

The preferred embodiments described above are not restricted. It will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that various modifications andchanges may be made therein without departing from the scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A power battery, comprising an outer case, anelectrode and a battery body which comprises electrode plates, and aninner case; wherein: the power battery is a unit battery; quantity ofthe inner case and the outer case are respectively one; an external heatabstractor is disposed on external surface of the outer case and aninternal heat abstractor is disposed on internal surface of the innercase; a cylindrical holding cavity with an annular cross section isformed between the outer case and the inner case, and the electrodeplates are provided in the holding cavity and are arranged in layersalong radial direction of the holding cavity; each layer of theelectrode plates surrounds the inner case; and the electrode is disposedin an inner cavity of the inner case, which is provided with an airwaygoing through the inner cavity; the airway has a gear-like cross sectionor a quincuncial cross section; the electrode comprises a firstelectrode member and a second electrode member which are located atupper end and lower end of the inner cavity respectively; the firstelectrode member comprises more than one electrode poles and aconnecting pipe located in center of the inner cavity; each of theelectrode poles is directly connected and contacts with the internalsurface of the inner case at one end, and is directly connected andcontacts with the connecting pipe at the other end; the electrode polesare distributed evenly along a circum on the internal surface of theinner case; the second electrode member has the same structure as thefirst electrode member; and the first electrode member and the secondelectrode member are insulated from each other; the external heatabstractor is made up of multiple external radiator fins which extendoutwards in directions of diameters of the outer case; the multipleexternal radiator fins are fixed on external surface of the outer caseand spaced at a specific distance; and outmost contours of the multipleexternal radiator fins are all located on surfaces of a cylinder; andthe whole battery is a cylinder in shape.
 2. The power battery accordingto claim 1, wherein: wall thickness of the outer case is greater thanthat of the inner case.
 3. The power battery according to claim 2,wherein: the outer case and the inner case are nested together to form atubular structure; the holding cavity has a cylindrical structure withan annular cross section; the electrode plates of the battery body arerolled to form overlapped and sliced cylinders; the internal heatabstractor is made up of multiple internal radiator fins which extendinwards in directions of diameters of the inner case; and the multipleinternal radiator fins are fixed on internal surface of the inner caseand spaced at a specific distance.
 4. The power battery according toclaim 1, wherein: one or more sensors are disposed inside the innercavity.
 5. The power battery according to claim 1, wherein: wallthickness of the outer case is ranged from 0.5 mm to 500 mm; and wallthickness of the inner case is ranged from 0.2 mm to 15 mm.